On one of the last nights in Toronto during the Easter long weekend, I think we're making it a tradition now - we stopped at Congee Queen for some quintessential Chinese confort food - Congee! And fried rice and... well, you get the picture. Staff is friendly, the kitchen is quick and the restaurant is elegant in warm woods, browns and golds. We went around the table and my family just picked whatever they felt like eating... and since we all love carbs, and carbs usually play an integral part of comfort food.. bring on them carbs baby!! :D Onto the food!the APPYs
First up was the Dough fritter rice noodle roll. Its essentially a savory crisp deep fried Chinese donut quickly wrapped in a soft tender thin rice roll and served with sweetened soy sauce, toasted sesame, hoisin sauce and peanut dripping sauce for a great cominatin of textures - soft, crisp, chewy and flavors - sweet, salty savory. Yum!
Next up was my cousin's fav - the House seafood and chicken lettuce wrap. Moist diced sauteed chicken and scallops is mingled with refreshing bites of water chestnut, sweet crisp jicama, carrot, celery, onions all having a last in a slightly sweet and savory sauce and crowned with some thinly sliced green onions.
Pop into a leaf of cool iceberg lettuce and you have yourself a lean, mean and tasty lettuce wrap nom!
the FOOD
Can't go to a place called Congee Queen without having some congee - their versions are always loaded up with lots of seafood and ones loaded up with your choice of toppings (or you can pick the ones on the menu) the congee is reminiscent of a silky smooth rice stew. First up was the Shredded pork and gold preserved egg congee. There were lots of thin strips of seasoned pork to give the congee a tasty savoriness, while generous wedges of preserved egg added in depth, richness and earthiness to this traditional congee. Preserved egg is an acquired taste and I'm glad I acquired it! Nom!
The Seafood Super Bowl congee with tiger shrimp, scallop, salmon, sliced fish, crab meat and squid was also a hit... how can it be not when the huge bowl it came in was almost half full of perfectly cooked succulent savory seafood? Mmm!
The House seafood and mixed vegetable fried Taiwanese vermicelli was nicely seasoned and had lots of vegetables and shrimp. While half the table dug into it, me and my cousin attacked the...
Empress fried rice with eel, fish roe and crab meat topped with waving flakes of bonito and toasted nori strips. This was my favorite non-congee dish of the night. Nicely seasoned fried rice is tossed with lots of moist pieces of sauteed/grilled? eel and fresh crab meat.
The fish shoe gives bright sweet unagmi pops of brightness and the sweet teriyaki BBQ sauce the rice is drizzled with pairs nicely with the smokiness of the bonito flakes. Nomnomnom!
And we finished off with some steamed season vegetables, which turned out to be baby yu choy - tastes similar to a slightly sweet kale.
the VERDICT
Congee Queen continues to be a great place for congee, Chinese noodles and rice dishes. Wonder if we'll see one on every corner like Tim Horton's the next time I head back to Toronto? Or maybe they'll start plunking restaurants in the west... wouldn't be a bad thing in my books!
Congee Queen
Address Scarborough, 3850 Sheppard Ave E (Agincourt Mall), Unit 0425 Toronto, ON
Phone (416) 321-8288
Hours Sun- Thurs 10am-midnight, Fri-Sat 10am-1am
Map
2 comments:
Great post, superb pics but it is located in Scarborough, not North York.
Thanks Sub! I've updated it.. I've been to so many locations sometimes its hard to keep track.. all yummy! Wish they would expand out west :p
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